Machinery for handling cotton



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MACHINERY FOR HANDLING COTTON. N No. 570,471. Patented Nov. 3, 1896.

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Patented Nov. 3. 1896.

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UNITED STATES j PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD MONROE GILL, or RUSTON, LOUISIANA.

MACHINERY FOR HANDLING COTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 570,471, dated November3, 1896. Application filed $eptember 24,1895. Serial No. 563,547. (Nomodel.)

To all. whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD MONROE GILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at'Ruston, in the parish of Lincoln and State of Louisiana,haveinvented a new and useful Apparatus for Handling Cotton, of whichthe following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for handlingseed-cotton; and

the object in view is to provide convenient means for receiving suchcotton directly from the wagons in which it is hauled to a public ginand to convey the same either directly to the feeder or distributer ofthe gin-stand, or, in case the latter is in operation, then to any oneof a series of compartments or stalls, where it may be stored whilewaiting to be passed through the gin.

Cotton is usually received at the gins and conveyed to the gin-stands bymeans of pneumatic tubes or conveyers, the seed-cotton be: ing drawnupward directly from the customers wagon and conveyed immediately to thegin-stand, on which it is deposited and fed into the saws. It sometimeshappens, how-.

ever, that the customers are so numerous that their cotton cannot all beaccommodated by the gins, thus causing considerable delay and requiringsuch customers to await their turn or else to carry their cotton toseparate storehouses at a distance from the gin-house.

These storehouses are usually placed at such,

distance from the gin as to prevent the liability of the same catching011 fire in the event of a conflagration occurring at the gin-houseitself. From this separate depository for the surplus cotton the latteris drawn by suction through pipes connecting with the gin-house; butthis requires the use of fans of great capacity and results in thenecessity for increased power and the additional expense of a hand tofeed the cotton into the suctionpipes, said hand being required toremain in the cotton depository during the entire time that theseed-cotton is being drawn to the gin-stands.

- The object of this invention is to provide means by which thenecessity for s'torehouses for the seedcotton and the expense incidentto the extra labor required will be obviated. .Also to economize theexpenditure of power, to secure immunity from fire, to place the entirehandling of-the seed-cotton underone supervision, and at the same timeto increase the capacity of the gin-house and occasion no delay byreason of each customer having to await his turn.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the courseof the subjoined description.

In order to accomplish the objects above enumerated, the inventionconsists in certain novel features and details of construction andarrangement, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in thedrawings, and finally embodied in the claims hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of agin-house, illustrating the various features of the present invention.Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is also avertical sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the compartment-car partially broken away to showthe interior arrangement. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view ofthe double separator,

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings. Referring to the accompanying drawings,1 designates a gin-house, which for the sake of convenience and thebetter carrying out of the present invention is provided with adouble-pitched roof and mounted upon suitable pillars or posts 2, whichwill bring the main floor at the desired elevation to the ground forenabling a suitable engine to be located thereunder and to impart motionto the main driving-shaft 3 the latterbein g provided with pulleys fromwhich belts extend upwardly through the main floor 4E and drive theshafts of the separator, fan, gin, to.

In the rear portion of the house 1 are ar ranged rails 5, which form atrack upon which abox-car, indicated at 6, is adapted to travel. Theserails extend through oppositely-disposed door-openings 7 in the sides ofthe house,

and maybe extended to any desired distance from the house 1 andsupported upon trestlework, or in any desired manner. The car 6 maybeconstructed of any light wood or ma terial and is supported upon anydesired nunr ber of carrying-wheels S. The body of the car 6 is of aheight somewhat less than the height of the ceiling rafters or stringers9 of the house construction, and is divided by means of transversevertical partitions 10 into a series of compartments or stalls 11 of anydesired capacity, said compartments or stalls being closed at the backand provided in front with doors 12, which may be opened for givingaccess thereto when necessary. Each of said compartments is alsoprovided with a false back 13, which is in the form of a stout board orplate which corresponds in outline to the cross-sectional shape of itsrespective compartment, being perhaps slightly less in height and width,so as to be capable of sliding freely within the same. To each of saidsliding backs or followers 13 is attached a cable 14, the same beingsecured in proximal relation to the center of said back or follower andof sufficient length to reach beyond the door-opening of its respectivecompartment, where it is provided with an eye or hook 15, the purpose ofwhich will hereinafter appear. The top of the caris covered by means'ofa roof 16, extending over and covering the several compartments, andprovided immediately above each compartment with an opening 17., throughwhich the seed-cotton may be fed into the compartment. After theseed-cotton has been conducted into the several compartments of thecar,the openings 17 may be closed and the car then moved out of thebuilding by means of a traveling cable 18, which passes around andreceives its motion from a horizontal shaft 1-9, arranged between therails 5 and provided with a pulley 20, actuated from the maindriving-shaft 3 by means of a belt 21., or in any other suitable manner.The car 6 maybe provided with any convenient means for gripping thecable.

When it is desired to remove the seed-cotton from any one of thecompartments of the car, the latter is hauled into the building untilthe particular compartment is brought opposite to the space where it isdesired to deposit the cotton. The door of such compartment is nowopened, and the cable which is attached to the false back or follower ofsuch compartment is secured by means of the hook or eye 15 to the end ofa cable 22, which connects with a revoluble shaft 23, extendinghorizontally across the gin-house and arranged in parallel relation. tothe rails 5. This shaft is driven by means of a pulley 2i and belt 25from the main driving-shaft 3, above described. The shaft 23 is now setin motion and the cable wound thereon. As the cable becomes taut itdraws on the false back or follower 13, moving the same toward the doorof its respective compartment and ejecting the entire mass ofseed-cotton therefrom, dumping the same upon the floor at thepredetermined point.

The separator, indicated at 26, isof a duplex character, comprising twoseparate separaters, which are driven by a common shaft 27,.having uponone end a fixed pulley 28, from which a driving-belt 29 extendsdownwardly to and passes around a pulley 30 on the main driving-sh aft3. This duplex separator communicates with an exhaust-fan 31 by means ofa double tube or pipe 32. The exhaust-fan is arranged just beneath therid ge-pole of the house construction and preferably above the trackupon. which the car 6 travels, while the separator is also arranged justbeneath the ridge-pole, but at an approximately central point, so thatby means hereinafter described it may deliver the seed-cotton eitherdirectly to the gin-stand or into one of the compartments of the car.The connecting pipe or tube 32 between the separator and exhaust-fan issubstantially round in crosssection and has a vertically-disposedcentral partition 33, which divides the same into two separateair-passages. The end of this tube enters between the two members of theduplex separator, one of which communicates with one of the passages insaid tube, while the other communicates with the remaining passage. Bythis arrangement, and with the aid of suitable gates or shut-offs, oneor both of said separator members may be thrown into or out ofoperation.

From one of the separator sections a conveyer-tube 34 extends downwardlyand out through the side of the house, where it depends, as shown, andis arranged in convenient position to receive seed-cotton from a wagon.Upon setting the exhaust-fan in motion the seed-cotton is sucked upwardfrom the wagon referred to and carried into that half of the separatorwith which the pipe or tube 34 is in communication. The cotton istherein separated from the current of air by means of the blades of theseparator in a manner well understood in the art, and is carrieddownward and caused to pass out through an opening 35 in the bottom ofthe separator. Arranged immediately beneath such discharge-opening is achute 36, which is capable of being adjusted so as to extend eitherinthe direction of the gin-stand or toward the car 6. If adjusted in thedirection of the gin-stand, the seed-cotton will be conducted directlyfrom the wagon in which it was hauled to the gin-house to the gin standor feeder. 4 If the gin is already engaged upon another lot of cotton,the chute may be adjusted into its reverse' position and the additionalseed-cotton deposited in one of the compartments of the boxcar.

37 designates another tube which commu nicates with the opposite sectionof the duplex separator and extends downwardly through the floor 4, andalong beneath the same, where it communicates at one point with anopening 38, and also has a branch or extension which is in communicationwith another opening 39 in said floor. The openings 38 and 39 constitutefeed-openings, into which. the-cotton deposited upon the floor is fed.The fan sucks said. cotton upward into the separator, from which thesaiLLcott-on is ejected through a discharge-opening in the bottom ofsaid separator and directed by a deflector and flue i0 upon thegin-stand. The fan may be driven in any convenient manner by a suitablebelt extending to the main driving-shaft 3, or other driven shaft of theapparatus.

The apparatus above described affords an inexpensive and convenientmeans for handling cotton and expedites the operation of unloadingwagons. The apparatus is also very cheap and easily within the reach ofthe ordinary ginneries, enabling them to compete with largerestablishments. The use of the car, with its compartments or stalls forthe re ception of seed-cotton, provides for keeping individual lots ofcotton separate, and, if desired, the doors of such compartments mayhave different numbers applied thereto, by which the separate lots ofcotton maybe designated. If desired, each compartment may be of a sizewhich will contain a single cotton bale. It will be understood that anynumber of cars may be employed and that each may contain as manycompartments as desired,

depending upon the amount of power at hand.

In the event of fire breaking out in the ginhouse, due to sparks orfriction from the machinery or other cause, the cars containing thecotton can be pushed along the track and carried to a distancesufficiently remote to afford them immunity from the fire.

The apparatus described is capable of handling the cotton with despatchand will avoid a great deal of annoyance and delay, which is necessarilyoccasioned by the ordinary de vices now in common use. I

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In an apparatus for handlingcotton, the combination with a separator comprising twoseparating-chambers, of an exhaust-fan, and an exhaust-tube interposedbetween and communicating with said separator and fan, the said tubebeing provided with a central web or partition extending longitudinallythereof and dividing the tube into separate and independentair-passages, one of which communicates with one chamber of theseparator, and the other with the remaining chamber, substantially asand for the purpose described.

2. In an apparatus for handling cotton, a box-car provided with a seriesof compartments, a false back or follower located within eachcompartment, and a cable attached to each of said backs or followers,substantially as and for the purpose described.

In an apparatus for handling cotton ,a car provided with a series ofcompartments, and a false back or follower located in each of saidcompartments, in combination with a revoluble shaft or Windlass, and acable running around said shaft or Windlass and adapted to be connectedwith said back or follower, substantially as and for the purposespecified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD MONROE GILL.

\Vitnesses D. S. PATTERSON, S. M. LEWIS.

